Debutante
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A debutante (or deb) (French word for "female beginner") is a young lady from an aristocratic or upper class family who has reached the age of maturity, and as a new adult, is introduced to society at a formal presentation known as her "debut" or "coming out." Originally, it meant the young woman was eligible for marriage, and part of the purpose was to display her to eligible bachelors and their families with a view to marriage within a select upper class circle. This traditional event varies by region, but is typically referred to as a debutante ball.
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[edit] England
In England, debutantes were presented at court at the start of the social season. Only ladies who had already been presented were entitled to present another lady, which ensured the social exclusivity of the privilege. Most women were presented by their own mothers, but this would not be possible if their own mother had not been presented, or was dead or absent from Court for any other reason. Hence, it was possible to be presented, instead, by another eligible woman, provided she personally knew and could vouch for the lady being presented. As well as debutantes properly so called, older women and married women who had not previously been presented could be presented at Court. A mother-in-law might, for example, present her new daughter-in-law.
The presentation, to the reigning monarch, followed an elaborate ritual, and the debutante was required to wear distinctive formal Court dress. In particular, they were required either to carry feathers (usually in the form of an ostrich feather fan), or to wear feathers as part of their headdress.[1]
Queen Elizabeth II abolished the ceremony of presentation at Court of any woman, including debutantes, in 1958. Attempts were made to keep the tradition going by organising a series of parties for young girls who might otherwise have been presented at Court in their first season (to which suitable young men were also invited). However, the withdrawal of royal sanction made these occasions increasingly insignificant, and scarcely distinguishable from any other part of the social season.
However, the expression "debutante" or "deb" for short continues to be used, especially in the press, to refer to young girls of marriageable age who participate in a semi-public upper class social scene. The expression "deb's delight" is applied to good looking unmarried young men from similar backgrounds.
[edit] Australia
In Australia, some debutante balls (or colloquially "deb balls") are held in year 11 of the Australian Government funded school system through the school, although some are held outside the school system by organisations such as the local chapter of Lions Club. Girls do not have to 'make their deb' and today many girls elect not to or see deb balls as irrelevant. Equally, the ongoing tradition indicates that the debutante ball as rite of passage is alive and well in Australia.
It is customary for the female to ask a male to the debutante ball, with males not being able to "do the deb" unless they are asked. Debutante ball students who are partaking in the official proceedings must learn how to ballroom dance. Debutante balls are almost always held in a reception centre or ballroom. Usually they are held late in the year and consist of dinner, dancing and speeches by the school captains. Schools often restrict invitations to the debutante ball to students within the grade level at one school, but single-sex schools tend to allow a partner with no association to the school to attend. The debutante ball traditionally is a rite of passage for some Australian school students, both male and female, and represents their coming of age. They are often, but not always, similar to American proms. [2].
When a girl attends a non-Govt school, the ball is often called The Matron's Ball and takes place when the girl is 18. Traditionally, the girl is invited to take part (not everyone is asked) and her family pay for the ball. They are presented to the Governor of the State or other dignitary.
[edit] Ireland
In Ireland, Debutante balls have most in common with the high school proms of the United States. This type of ball is referred to as a "debs" or a "debs ball". Each secondary school will host their own ball. In some schools, before the debs, a smaller ball, known as a pre-debs is held. Often a Debs committee is established to organise a Debs. These are usually organised by someone other than the school itself. Debs balls occur at the end of the final year of second-level students, but there are many variations on when this can occur, some are as early as mid July, whilst others can be as late as Christmas. Traditionally a committee is created in the school to organise the event. Normally, the person asking someone else to the debs will pay for both tickets.
Many students worry about being invited or finding a date, though it is rare for students not to attend for this reason. Often, students try to find a date they have affections for. This is not always the case, and many attend with friends or in a group, not worrying about the dating aspect. Occasionally, depending on the school, students from the year below that studied the optional transition year, and so are a year behind, are entitled to go. Whether the female asks the male, or vice versa, is irrelevant. Boys are usually attired in dinner jackets with bowties, occasionally with brightly colored cummerbunds or waistcoats. Girls usually wear formal gowns or dresses adorned with a corsage given to them by their date. It is customary for boys to purchase a bouquet of flowers and/or a box of chocolates to give to their date's mother. Where the ball is held at a venue outside the locality, couples will sometimes travel to the venue by limousine, a tradition which has become more widespread as prosperity has increased.
Social class has no effect on the debs, each school has a debs, regardless of social status. People in informal dress can still be present, though this is a rare occurrence. Dancing is optional and never as formal as ballroom style, though it is polite for the male to ask his date to dance at least once, and to buy her a drink during the night. Photographs from the event are often featured in local newspapers. It is common for attendees not to return home until the following morning, or to stay in someone else's house that night and return home in a tired and emotional state. [3]
[edit] United States
A cotillion or debutante ball in the United States is a formal presentation of young ladies, debutantes, to polite society. Debutantes are usually recommended by a distinguished committee or sponsored by an established member of elite society.
Wearing white gowns and satin or kid gloves, the debutantes stand in a receiving line, and then are introduced individually to the audience. The debutante is announced and then is walked around the stage, guided by her father who presents her to society.
Her younger male escort then joins her and escorts her away. Each debutante brings at least one escort, sometimes two. According to tradition, the escorts are dressed in a military uniform, or in a white jacketed tuxedo.
Cotillions may be elaborate formal affairs and involve not only "debs" but junior debutantes, escorts and ushers, flower girls and pages as well.
Every debutante must perform a curtsy. This gesture is made as the young woman is formally presented.
Debutante balls exist in nearly every major city in the United States. They are often charity occasions, in which the parents of the young ladies, as well as all attending, must contribute a certain sum of money to the cause at hand. For a list of debutante balls in the United States, see Cotillion.
[edit] Philippines
Cotillions and Debutante Balls (popularly called a 'debut') are very popular in the Philippines and in Filipino communities overseas. The debut begins with a priest giving a blessing before the ball. Eighteen candles are then presented to the debutante by eighteen of her closest girlfriends and family which are then placed on the cake so the debutante may blow them out. Then eighteen roses are presented by eighteen male friends and family whilst dancing to a "slow song". Traditionally, the debutante leaves the ball at midnight (she can return to her hotel room to drink the night away with her friends or make her way to a bar/club). Another tradition is that all young males present must drink to each letter of the debutante's name. The debutante, her escort and her court (nine couples = 18 people all together including debutante couple) learn and perform the cotillion de honor. This dance either consisted of a waltz or the traditional Filipino aristocratic dance "rigodon". In modern times the waltz is accompanied Latin dances and sometimes hip hop routines. [4] The debutante tradition in Philippine culture is documented in the film The Debut. Most people who are debutantes are rich upper class individuals. It is said that the number of debuts a youth has been involved in as a cotillion member serves as a mark of their popularity.
[edit] Latin America
In some Hispanic communities along the U.S. and Latin America, a similar event occurs on a girl's fifteenth birthday. It is called a Quinceañera ceremony.
In Brazil, such events are called Baile de Debutante (debutante ball).
In Argentina, unless an activity is specified, the word "debutar" refers by common usage to having sex for the first time. Therefore, it is not advisable to ask a woman if she had already made her debut, because it would be understood as a sexual and not a social introduction. The introduction party itself usually happens at the 15th birthday and it is called "Fiesta de quince".
[edit] See also
